Next week I will be in Austria, Badgastein, for vacation. Plan is to do some hf activations and I wonder if I should bring my handheld vhf radio along? Here in Sweden it is of no use, the possibility to get a QSO is slim to none.
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Hi Jan,
Nice to hear that you are visiting OE. On weekends the chances are bigger than on a weekday.
But if you are high up in Badgastein the chances that you reach areas with many VHF chasers (OE/OO and DL Bavaria) are pretty good. If you have the space for the handheld I would recommend to bringing it.
73 Joe
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I’ve activated summits in OE/SB, and have indeed logged several 2m FM contacts successfully.
73,
Wouter Jan PE4WJ
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It may boost your QSO rates if you spot your activation not only on SOTAwatch, but also GMA, POTA and whatever else may be applicable. Unfortunately, nowadays there don’t seem to be many people listening on / scanning the simplex frequencies, hence a little advertising cannot hurt.
If in Austria or Germany, call CQ on VHF also in German. Newcomers in particular may not be comfortable speaking English. Furthermore, check which frequencies are used by the local clubs and nets. You may not necessarily find chasers there, but increase your chances for more QSOs.
73, Martin
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